Saquon Barkley mulls sitting out season in ‘f–k you’ to Giants after failed contract talks
Leverage is an eight-letter word, but Saquon Barkley can spell it with four.
In an interview detailing his contract negotiations, Barkley revealed what he might be thinking now that the deadline for negotiating a long-term contract with the Giants has passed and he is stuck on a yet-to-be-signed one-year franchise tag worth $10.1 million.
During a July 11 podcast recording, Barkley said he still hoped to strike a deal.
But the sides finished less than $2 million apart, sources told The Post, so he is not expected to report to training camp and could decide to skip regular-season games.
“My leverage is I could say, ‘F–k you’ to the Giants, I could say, ‘F–k you to my teammates,’” Barkley said on an episode of “The Money Matters” released Monday on YouTube.
“And be like, ‘You want me to show you my worth? You want me to show you how valuable I am to the team? I won’t show up. I won’t play a down.’ And that’s a play I could use.’
“Anybody [who] knows me, knows that’s not something I want to do. Is it something that’s crossed my mind? I never thought I would ever do that, but now I’m at a point where I’m like, ‘Jesus, I might have to take it to this level.’ Am I prepared to take it to this level? I don’t know.
“That’s something I have to sit down and talk to my family, talk to my team [of advisers] and strategize about this. Can’t just go off of emotions.”
Barkley also said, “I can try to get as much money as I can, but what really matters is winning. I know if I’m able to help bring a championship to New York, that’s going to go miles more ahead than this contract.”
What would sitting out accomplish?
It could create panic and pressure from the fans if the playoff hopefuls start slowly and the offense sputters without its best playmaker.
But Barkley, 26, and the Giants cannot negotiate a long-term extension again until after the season.
“I believe I’m the best running back in the NFL,” Barkley said at the time. “I’m not even asking for what I’m worth.”
Perhaps Barkley could squeeze out some concessions — like the Giants forfeiting their right to tag him again in 2024 or a slight pay raise — but mostly it would send a message at the cost of nothing in training camp (unsigned players can’t be fined for missed practices) and about $560,000 per week in the regular season.
“I wouldn’t say I’m not happy,” Barkley, a Bronx native, said at the time. “Where I’m thrown off, or it doesn’t sit right with me, is I came out publicly and said that I want to be a Giant for life.
“I didn’t want to hit the free-agency market. I feel like we could’ve got the job done.”
Barkley turned down a $13 million per year offer that included $19.5 million guaranteed, sources told The Post, during the bye last season.
Barkley confirmed what The Post previously reported — he was never going to accept less than the $22.5 million guaranteed (about equal to two tags).
He also sought a high annual average per year because of “respect.”
“The number they offered, they thought I might jump at because of my injury history,” Barkley said. “I was like I’d rather bet on myself.”
At that time, Barkley also felt disrespected by the Giants’ player comparisons used for him.
He cited multiple times how he accounted for more than 30 percent of last season’s offensive yardage.
“My comp was two running backs who really aren’t used in the pass-catching game, more downhill runners — great running backs,” Barkley said. “They already showed me their hand: They told me my comp, and I know their [pay]. If that’s what you are telling me and I know what they signed for, what are we really talking about?
“After hearing that, they tell you, ‘This is the type of player you are.’ I’m like, ‘Eh, no. I can catch the ball. I had 91 catches, the rookie record for running back.”
Barkley said general manager Joe Schoen told him “none of this is personal, it’s business,” but a “threat” to convince him to accept a team-offered proposal was that they could tag him twice.
“You have to take a more mature route: You can’t just be like, ‘F–k that, I want something fair,’” Barkley said. “What are we talking about? Ten million dollars is a lot of money, especially when you look at the economics of our country and where the poverty rate is, and I’m a person that comes from that. You have fans, ‘How much do you want? We just want you to be here?’
“That’s when it gets upsetting to me. I don’t want to come off like I’m greedy, like I’m arrogant. At the end of the day, you still have to do what’s right for you.”
For those hoping he is ready for Week 1 against the Cowboys, one week ago Barkley still was resistant to a holdout before no-deal was reality.
“If I do have to go on the field and prove and play again,” Barkley said, “I’m fine with that.”
